WASHINGTON, DC (November 8, 2007) – The Parents
Television Council™ President Tim Winter testified before the
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation
today, saying that there is universal support for not allowing
big media companies to own more media outlets because they
consistently disregard and violate the public trust. Excerpts
from Mr. Winter’s testimony follow:

“Mr. Chairman, a few years
ago the PTC stood shoulder-to-shoulder with a remarkably diverse
group of public policy advocates to decry the loosening of media
ownership rules: the National Organization for Women and
Concerned Women for America, the Salvation Army and
Common Cause, Consumers Union, the National Rifle Association,
MoveOn.org and others. As PTC Founder Brent Bozell noted, ‘When
all of us are united on an issue, then one of two things has
happened. Either the earth has spun off its axis and we have
all lost our minds, or there is universal support for a
concept.’ I believe the FCC’s recent localism hearings across
the country have once again demonstrated universal support for a
concept: big media companies have not conducted themselves in a
manner which merits them owning even more media outlets. The
only voices in favor of allowing big media companies to grow
even bigger has come from within those very companies.

“With very few exceptions, network-owned
television stations do not consider community decency standards,
even though the terms of their broadcast licenses demand it.

“During the summer of 2003, the Fox Broadcasting
Network aired an episode of a crime show called Keen Eddie.
Criminals trying to sell horse semen on the black market hired
a prostitute to perform a particular act on the horse in order
to extract the semen. Although the act itself was not
displayed, the dialog was so coarse that I am uncomfortable
repeating it here. A member of the PTC in Kansas City wrote a
letter to the Fox owned-and-operated station in his market,
expressing his concern. I wish to read aloud the response he
received from the station’s General Manager:

‘We forwarded
your letter to the FOX Network. The Network, not WDAF TV4,
decides what shows go on the air for the FOX Owned and Operated
Television Stations.’

“When station general managers in cities and
towns across the country take their orders directly from the
network headquarters in New York or Hollywood, it comes as no
surprise that they would toe the company line with programming.
How does this serve the public interest?

“We have heard privately – and repeatedly – from
independent local broadcasters around the country who are
threatened by the major TV networks that they will lose their
affiliate status if they preempt network programming.
Fortunately there are a few notable exceptions of broadcasters
pushing back on the networks, including Capitol Broadcasting’s
Mr. Goodmon, and others like Pappas Communications. But when
local programming decisions are dictated or prohibited by a
corporation often thousands of miles away, the public interest
cannot be served.

“Media consolidation has led to self-serving news
media that seek to protect the interests of their own corporate
parents. When the broadcast networks challenged the FCC’s
ability to enforce indecency standards they convinced two
federal judges in New York City that they have a ‘right’ to air
the ‘F-word’ at any time of day, even when they know millions of
children are watching. Although dozens of concerned family
groups, including the PTC, were shocked that a federal court
could reach such a preposterous conclusion, there has been only
limited public outcry over that decision. The reason for this
is simple: in large measure, the American people don’t know that
it has happened. In the wake of that court decision, not a
single national broadcast news organization saw fit to cover it,
and even with a host of 24-hour-a-day news channels on cable,
there was near zero coverage of a decision that will directly
impact every family in the country as well as the policies
determining appropriate use of the airwaves that they themselves
own.

“Why no coverage? We believe that the corporate
news divisions did not cover their parent companies’ lawsuits
because they knew the public would be incensed by the arrogance
of a media conglomerate arguing for the ‘right’ to air profanity
in front of their children early in the day over the airwaves
that they – the public - own.

“It should be noted that the Second Circuit
F-word lawsuit, and the now-pending Third Circuit lawsuit
alleging that the Janet Jackson Super Bowl striptease was not
indecent, were not brought by local broadcasters like Mr.
Goodmon. Rather, these lawsuits were filed by the major
television networks: those same corporations who want an even
greater control of America’s media.

“In November 2004, Viacom – then the corporate
parent of the CBS television network – entered into a Consent
Decree with the FCC wherein it admitted airing indecent
material, paid a fine and committed itself to a detailed
compliance plan to prevent the further airing of indecent
material.

“Within weeks of signing that agreement, CBS
re-aired a program containing a teenage sex orgy scene. When
the FCC ruled on the tens of thousands of indecency complaints
filed by the public, CBS was required to take immediate remedial
steps. But there is no evidence that compliance plan was
followed, and CBS has openly admitted as much. They have
effectively breached the agreement that they themselves
negotiated with the FCC. Given this clear disregard for the
public interest, why should CBS have their licenses renewed,
much less increased? We have gone on record
to ask the FCC to reconsider all broadcast licenses held by CBS.

“If you think media consolidation has stifled the
broadcast industry, please listen carefully to the following
statistics on cable. At my office in Los Angeles, there are 48
cable networks bundled together on the expanded basic cable
tier. Of those 48 cable networks, Viacom owns all or part of 8
of them; NBC owns all or part of 8; Disney owns all or part of
8; News Corporation owns all or part of 6; Liberty Media owns
all or part of 6; and the local cable operator, Time-Warner,
owns all or part of 7 of those networks. By using the
retransmission consent rules, these conglomerates are able to
use their TV station broadcast licenses in an extortion-like way
to force unwanted cable networks onto our cable systems and onto
our cable bills.

“There has been much attention paid recently to
the acquisition of The Wall
Street Journal by News Corporation. Imagine the
outrage if Mr. Murdock demanded that subscribers to the Journal must now
take and pay for the New
York Post? But that is precisely what he is doing
with his new Fox Business Network. News Corporation is able to
force its new business network onto cable systems across the
country, regardless of whether a single consumer wanted another
cable business news network. Such bundled programming
arrangements may be great for Wall Street, but it is not good
for Main Street, and clearly it does not serve the public
interest.

“There has been a great deal of discussion about
the lack of diversity in the American media landscape as it
relates to the ownership of media properties, and rightfully
so. Most Americans can name one network that caters to
African-American audiences: BET; but can you name a second or a
third? You can’t, because they simply don’t exist as an option
on most cable systems. For example, the Black Family Channel,
the only black owned and operated cable
television network for African American families, is now only
distributed via broadband internet. Because it is
independently owned and cannot apply the same bundling leverage
that conglomerate-owned cable networks can, Black Family Channel
was effectively shut out from carriage. In an environment
dominated by media giants, there has developed no free market
that would allow additional minority programming to be created
and distributed.

“Mr. Chairman, how can media conglomerates be
afforded the additional public trust to hold even more broadcast
licenses when they behave in this manner?

“This Committee, the Congress and the FCC must
work in concert to protect the interests of the public – the
very owners of the airwaves. In the strongest terms, I urge the
Congress to consider these issues carefully as it evaluates any
appropriate action on the issues of localism, diversity and
media ownership.”

The Parents Television Council™ (www.parentstv.org®)
is a non-partisan education organization advocating responsible entertainment.
It was founded in 1995 to ensure that children are not constantly assaulted by sex, violence
and profanity on television and in other media. This national
grassroots organization has more than 1.3 million members across the
United States, and works with television producers, broadcasters,
networks and sponsors in an effort to stem the flow of harmful and
negative messages targeted to children. The PTC also works with
elected and appointed government officials to enforce broadcast
decency standards. Most importantly, the PTC produces critical
research and publications documenting the dramatic increase in sex,
violence and profanity in entertainment. This information is
provided free of charge so parents can make informed viewing choices
for their own families.

Parents Television Council,
www.parentstv.org, PTC,
Clean Up TV Now, Because our children are watching, The
nation's most influential advocacy organization, Protecting
children against sex, violence and profanity in
entertainment, Parents Television Council Seal of Approval,
and Family Guide to Prime Time Television
are trademarks of the Parents Television Council.